Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay inspected ongoing rail system projects being carried out by the Konya Metropolitan Municipality in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, accompanied by members of the press.

As part of the program, Mayor Altay provided updates on the KONYARAY Suburban Line; the works at the Real Junction, Bus Terminal Junction, Yurtlar District Junction, Aksaray Junction and TÜMOSAN Junction under the Stadium–City Hospital Rail System Line; and the latest status of the City Hospital–Courthouse Rail System Connection Line.

“We are continuing work on KONYARAY without interruption”

Mayor Altay first traveled with members of the press on the KONYARAY Suburban Line and provided information about the ongoing works.

“We visited the first phase of our KONYARAY Suburban Line together, starting from Meram Station and extending to the Kayacık Logistics Center, alongside the existing railway line. KONYARAY is one of the main pillars of our transportation network, and we are continuing our work without interruption. Most of the construction work on the 23-kilometer first phase has been completed. Work on the stations is continuing, while electrification works have begun. God willing, we plan to complete the work at the construction site in 2027,” he said.

Countdown begins for KONYARAY test runs

Mayor Altay said the project is being carried out jointly by the Konya Metropolitan Municipality, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, and the Turkish State Railways (TCDD).

“While the construction of the line is being carried out by our Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and TCDD, the procurement of the trains is the responsibility of our Metropolitan Municipality. Following the protocol we signed with the Islamic Development Bank, we will hopefully begin work on the procurement of our first four train sets as of August 17. We then plan to purchase three additional sets, begin test runs and make the line available for our citizens to use,” he said.

“We will have fast and comfortable transportation”

Emphasizing the importance of KONYARAY for the city, Mayor Altay said the line would provide uninterrupted, fast and comfortable transportation because it uses the existing railway corridor and does not interact with road traffic.

“Our Organized Industrial Zones, particularly the 1st Organized Industrial Zone, as well as all of our industrial areas, are located along this line. Therefore, we will have an important transportation corridor, particularly for people who work in or need to travel to these industrial areas,” he said.

Altay noted that KONYARAY will also intersect with several major transportation lines in the city.

“We have begun work on a transfer station at the location of Selçuklu YHT Station. Once completed, this area will connect the KONYARAY Suburban Line, the Fetih–Ahmet Özcan Avenue Tram Line, our metro line and the Barış Avenue Tram Line. These lines will be connected to one another in this area, both above and below ground.

“There will also be an interchange between the suburban line and the City Hospital Tram Line at the Aksaray Road Interchange. Once completed, our citizens will be able to transfer easily between these lines,” he said.

“Our goal is to complete all lines and open them to the public by 2030”

Drawing attention to the scale and importance of Konya’s ongoing rail system projects, Mayor Altay continued:

“We are also carrying out works to improve the comfort of passengers traveling to the airport. In this way, our bus terminal, YHT station and airport, all located along our main transportation corridors, will be connected by rail. We are currently carrying out an extensive program of rail system construction. There is no other city in Türkiye undertaking a rail system project on this scale.

“Our goal is to complete all the lines and open them to our citizens by 2030. On behalf of the people of Konya, I would like to thank our Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, and our TCDD General Manager, Veysi Kurt,” he said.

“We are nearing the completion of the Courthouse–City Hospital Line”

Mayor Altay later inspected the Stadium–City Hospital–Courthouse Rail System Line together with members of the press. He also reviewed the works at the Real Junction, Bus Terminal Junction, Yurtlar District Junction, Aksaray Junction and TÜMOSAN Junction, noting that intensive efforts were being made to improve transportation quality in the area.

“We are at the City Hospital station of our Courthouse–City Hospital–Stadium Tram Line. We are currently working on a new 21.2-kilometer rail system line. As the Konya Metropolitan Municipality, we are responsible for 10 kilometers of the line, while the remaining 11.2 kilometers are being carried out by our Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and our General Directorate of Infrastructure.

“We are constructing major structures along the route. We have completed the construction work in the City Hospital section, where we are currently located. God willing, we will open the 1.4-kilometer Courthouse–City Hospital section to our citizens in September. This will bring one of Konya’s most important healthcare centers, City Hospital, into our rail system network.

“We thank President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for bringing such an important facility to our city. As the Metropolitan Municipality, we have also been working for a long time to resolve the transportation problems in this area. Thankfully, we are nearing the end of the process. Our stations have now been built. Together with our smart bicycle stations and bicycle stops, we will hopefully put the City Hospital section into service for our citizens in September, with the participation of our Minister,” he said.

“Rail installation and pole works along Aslım Avenue are nearing completion”

Mayor Altay emphasized that the project involved a much larger scope of work and said:

“We are building a total 21.2-kilometer line starting from City Hospital, extending to the New Industrial Area, continuing along Aslım Avenue and then Aksaray Road before reaching the Stadium. Rail installation and pole installation works along Aslım Avenue are now nearing completion. We are carrying out the wire installation works.

“We are constructing a major grade-separated interchange at Aslım Avenue and Aksaray Road. At the junction, where vehicles coming from the direction of Aksaray and traveling toward the city will pass at the upper level while our rail system turns onto Aslım Avenue at the lower level, bridge construction is continuing. We are currently working on the bridge beams and the upper concrete works.

“Following this, the overpass carrying the traffic road at the intersection of Aksaray Road and Ankara Road, as well as the overpass over the high-speed railway, will be demolished and rebuilt. We are continuing work on the connecting roads.

“Our tram will approach along the central median and provide a transfer to the suburban line at an elevated station at the Aksaray Road–Ankara Road intersection. In addition, the station we are constructing near the site of the new bus terminal at this intersection will connect to the bus terminal on one side and the Chamber of Commerce’s Fair Center on the other via a pedestrian overpass.

“Work is also continuing on the overpass that will take the tram to an elevated level in the Yurtlar District. We have completed the bridge piers and will install the bridge beams, followed by the construction of a tram station at the elevated level.

“Further along, at the connection from Dr. Sadık Ahmet Avenue to Halil Ürün Avenue, we are constructing a six-lane bridge with three lanes in each direction, particularly to facilitate vehicle traffic. The rail system will pass through the center of the bridge. We currently have three bridge projects under construction.

“There will also be a tram stop at the elevated level. This will allow our citizens to access the existing tram line via escalators.

“We are taking our rail system underground along the route from the area around Barış Avenue through Dr. Sadık Ahmet Avenue and Halil Ürün Avenue toward the Stadium. This will prevent conflicts between the future Barış Avenue Tram Line, our existing tram line and road traffic,” he said.

54 kilometers of new rail system lines are currently under construction

Mayor Altay emphasized that 54 kilometers of new rail system lines are currently being added to the 27 kilometers of rail system lines previously built in Konya.

“God willing, once these and our other projects are completed, we will have added 114 kilometers of new rail system lines, making Konya a city with one of the most significant rail system networks in Anatolia.

“On behalf of the people of Konya, I would particularly like to thank our Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, and our General Director of Infrastructure, Yalçın Eyigün, for their support for our City Hospital–Stadium Tram Line. God willing, by completing this process together, we will add another major rail system line to our city. I hope it will benefit Konya,” he said.

“A project with a construction cost of TL 20 billion alone”

Mayor Altay also announced that a maintenance station and storage facility for the rail system vehicles are being constructed as part of the project.

“We are also building a maintenance station and storage facility on an area of 114,000 square meters near Aslım Avenue, including 6,400 square meters of enclosed space. This will provide us with a high-quality maintenance and storage facility for the rail system vehicles operating on this line.

“On the one hand, we are constructing the rail system line; on the other, we are bringing major infrastructure investments to our city to separate the rail system from road traffic. The total construction cost of the projects currently being carried out in our city by the Metropolitan Municipality and our Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure alone is TL 20 billion.

“While bringing such an important infrastructure investment to our city, we are also providing significant momentum to the local economy. I hope our Stadium–City Hospital Tram Line will benefit our city. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the project, particularly President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, our Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, and our General Director of Infrastructure. I hope it will be beneficial for Konya,” he said.